First To Admit it, 'Last One to Know

Are there song lyrics that just seem to speak about you in particular?

I’ve found quite a few but this Paul Simon song seems to hit closer to the mark that most any other.

If something goes wrongI’m the first to admit itThe first to admit itBut the last one to knowIf something goes rightWell, its likely to lose meIts apt to confuse meBecause its such an unusual sightOh I can't get used to something so rightSomething so right

Mostly it’s that line ‘first to admit it, last one to know’. That’s me, that is.

He wrote that song about me. And then he goes on to say:

They’ve got a wall in chinaIts a thousand miles longTo keep out the foreignersThey made it strongAnd I’ve got a wall around meThat you can’t even seeIt took a little timeTo get next to me

I bet there’s lot’s of people out there who think this song speaks to them personally. It’s 'carnival fortune-teller 101' - find those truths that seem highly personal to the client but which most of us, deep-down, really share.

The mention of 'wall' in your post reminded me of this one from The WallIs There Anybody Out There? (Waters)

Is there anybody out there?Is there anybody out there?Is there anybody out there?Is there anybody out there

I have a bluegrass version of the entire album by Luther Wright and the Wrongs that is absolutely brilliant and really does justice to this wee ditty.

I may come back with a more sensible answer later. Can't think just now - I'm comfortably numb. You can listen to some snippets at last.fm but unfortunately they cut 'Is There Anybody Out There' a bit too short.

Phyl: At Seventeen was a good one. Even I got that, and I was a boy! :)

Zorlone: Free home cooked dinner? OK! The chicken is probably a bit crushed though, it's at the bottom of the bag under the bleach. :)

Laura: This guy used to play guitar in a pub I used to go to when I was nineteen or so. He used to sing this song: "the cat came back, the very next day, the cat came back, we thought he was a goner..." Is that the song? I swear I have never heard it anywhere else except from that guy in that pub.

Jim: I'm very fond of The Wall, since it first came out but Wish you Were Here is my favorite album.

That is the song. I once heard it as a kid and whoever sang it made it really morbid sounding. The lyrics are awful as far as being morbid but to hear it sung with emphasis on the gruesome points... it gave me the creeps!

I posted the lyrics on my blog with a link to a cartoon/ movie short made about the song. Have a look, you'll get a laugh out of it.

I'd say, "The Warrior is a Child." This is a song by Gary Valenciano, one of our male local singers and the lyrics can aptly describe me. Here are snippets of the song:

"People say that I'm amazingI'm strong beyond my yearsBut they don't see inside of meI'm hiding all the tears

Chorus:They don't know that I come running home when I fall downThey don't know who picks me up when no one is aroundI drop my sword and cry for just a while'Coz deep inside this armorThe warrior is a child.

Davis Zen Kennedy: Great choices. I'm not up-to-date with newer Billy Bragg material but his 'Milk Man of Human Kindness' was, coincidentally, another of those lyrics I though was kind of about me. :)

And Dylan... and that whole album... I could recite the whole damn thing for you, "Life is sad, life is a bust, you do what you do, you do what you must, you do what you must do... and you do it well. I'd do it for you, honey-baby can't you tell?"

RE: The Cat Came Back. Listen to some different recordings of it. I don't know who sang it when I heard it as a kid. But someone made that song sound very creepy. When they sang about people being blown to bits and such it gave me shivers of dread. The song can be funny or sick. Sick is more fun in an evil way.

Cath M: It's great to see our Damien Rice reach out into the world so effectively. He is a great songwriter.

Hope: Aww! Thank you, it's a lovely song, and nobody does it like James. I remember strolling past The Albert Hall in London with Trish many years ago and seeing that James Taylor was playing. On impulse, we checked if there was a ticket or two left and there was was - what a great night it turned out to be.

Laura: I like the violent humour of it all. I'm really going to learn it, it doesn't take long.

I have quite a few songs with lyrics that speak to me. The most powerful, by far, "Hurt"-the Johnny Cash version of Trent Reznor's song. Although originally written about addiction, Cash brought a more human touch to it, and the following pretty much sums up how I've thought of my life:

If I could start againA million miles awayI would keep myselfI would find a way

'Me' Stuff

54 Years Old.
Loves to write.
Has had writing produced for radio, theatre, and film... some short stories published (and broadcast) and a laundry list which was highly commended by 'Whiter than White' in Castle Street.
'My Writing Resume'